Reviews, gig announcements and interviews in Northern Ireland

Dutch Uncles – O Shudder

“O Shudder” the new LP from UK new wave band Dutch Uncles is constructed like a classical composition. In fact it seems somehow wrong to place them under the umbrella term, new wave. It’s much more distinctive than that; new romantic synthpop might be its nearest kin.

The ephemeral vocal androgyny of Roxy Music or Erasure is woven like silver and gold threads in this tapestry of sound. There’s a hint of Talking Heads in some of these bass-heavy musical complexities.

O Shudder has a liquid sensation to it, evoking images of raindrops, cool streams, and swelling waves. Babymaking, GivenThing, Drips, and Tidal Weight illustrate this esthetic most acutely; whereas Decided Knowledge, Don’t Sit Back (FrankieSaid), bring about the more club-centric dance grooves. In nOut, and I Should Have Read unites these esthetics.

This is a fully fledged album with thoughtful attention to detail in each track, each song flowing intuitively one into the other. The result a thoroughly enjoyable listening experience. Noelle Ellis, GiggingNI.com